Fifteen years ago, Baby Boomers in Sun Belt states were having big homes built, inspired by Mediterranean and Tuscan design styles. Now, as they seek to downsize, they are increasingly finding that Millennial buyers are not in the market for these homes.
By contrast, Millennials favor clean design and smaller homes located in the heart of their community, according to The Wall Street Journal's reporting. "Homes built before 2012 are selling at steep discounts — sometimes almost 50 percent, and many owners end up selling for less than they paid to build their homes," Candace Taylor wrote in The Journal, adding, "These days, buyers of all ages eschew the large, ornate houses built in those years in favor of smaller, more modern-looking alternatives, and prefer walkable areas to living miles from retail."
Millennials are often seen as a generation of renters, but many of them want to buy homes — it's just much harder for them to do so. Millennials buying their first home today are likely to pay 39 percent more than Baby Boomers who bought their first home in the 1980s, Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower previously reported.
The generation is also facing record levels of student loan debt, making it hard to take on a mortgage loan. When Millennials can finally afford to buy a home, it makes sense that they'd hold out for something that's exactly to their taste.
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